TCA Chess in
Education workshop, March 8, 2008, 1-5 p.m. (Houston), co-organized by UTD's Dr. Alexey Root
and Luis Salinas. The
University of Texas at Brownsville (UTB), Texas Tech University (TTU), and The
University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) are the higher education leaders for chess
in education in Texas. With this workshop, Texas builds its reputation as the
leading state for chess in education. UTB, TTU, and UTD are joint workshop
sponsors, along with the Texas Chess Association (TCA).

1:00-1:30
Dr. Steve Lipschultz, Think
Like A King School Chess Software,
presents a Demonstration of An Interactive System to Establish Chess At Any
School.

The
Think Like A King School Chess Software System is used in 1500 schools
nationwide, and has become the Official Scholastic Software of the US Chess
Federation. See an in-depth demonstration of how it can be used to quickly build
chess programs throughout an entire school district.

1:30-2:30
Keynote Speaker Russell Harwood, Chess Program Director UTB/TSC, presents,
The Chess Boom in Brownsville,
Texas, and Tips for Duplicating it Where You Live.

Scholastic chess is booming in Brownsville, Texas, and the surrounding
communities. Of the 50 schools in the Brownsville Independent School District,
at least 35 have active chess programs. Six different Brownsville ISD schools
have won national chess championships, led by Dr. Americo Paredes Elementary’s
seven national titles. Two elementary school students have tied for individual
national championships, and many others have finished in the top five. The chess
success of our local schools got the attention of Dr. Juliet Garcia, President
of The University of Texas at Brownsville/Texas Southmost College, who formed a
chess program at UTB/TSC so that area students would have the opportunity to
earn scholarships and compete in chess at the university level. The Brownsville
Independent School District has gotten onboard, and now allocates about $400,000
per year to their chess program. Chess has become a source of pride to BISD,
UTB/TSC, and our community, and is now part of our identity. How did all of this
come about? How can these results be duplicated elsewhere? Are there other
successful models in our area? How does the future look? These questions and
more will be addressed during this informative presentation.

Grandmaster Polgar is the only person – male or female- to win
chess’ Triple Crown, comprised of Rapid, Blitz and Classical World
Championships. She is the top-ranked woman player in the United States and was
the first woman to earn the Grandmaster title. Susan currently is the director
of SPICE at Texas Tech University and the head coach of the Knight Raiders’
chess team. She is arguably the most active promoter of scholastic chess in the
United States, visiting countless schools and communities across the country.
After a short presentation a Q&A session will follow.

Looking
to combine educational goals with chess? Dr. Root presents an activity from her
most recent book that teaches the geometry of the board along with the
particular way in which knights move, all wrapped up in a fun story. Come hear,
and participate in, “Coco Can’t Wait.”

3:30-4:00
Jerry Nash, Scholastic and FIDE Director for USCF, presents Strategies to
Introduce Chess as an Educational Tool: Coordinating the Five Communities.

Scholastic chess has seen a dramatic
increase within the last twenty years. In 1988, the United States Chess
Federation’s youth and scholastic members totaled approximately 7000. By 2002,
the two age groups combined for over 53,000 members. The state of chess in
education may be characterized by its status as two types of programs:
after-school and curriculum instruction. By far the majority of scholastic chess
programs fall within the after-school category. The coordination of four
communities – educational, civic, business, and political communities – along
with the chess community is critical for the development of opportunities to
demonstrate the value of chess for instruction.

Participants will learn how to get organized, where to find some great resources
at little or no cost, how to get parents involved and how to get your school
involved in chess and your club involved in the life of your school. “Fun”
sometimes involves hard work so we will also explore a few ideas about how to
increase the work and fun at the same time. We will also consider a few fun ways
and places to play and teach chess. Mr. Johnston has been a scholastic chess
coach at Westminster Christian Academy in St. Louis for more than 17 years and
is currently a member of the advisory council of the Gateway Chess League, the
largest scholastic chess organization in Missouri.

TCA
continues to be one of the country’s strongest state chess organizations, with
unprecedented growth and opportunities. In order to accommodate this growth,
strategic planning is critical. An eagle eye’s view will be given, which
includes the current status, goals, and focus that the organization will have
for the next few years.

About UT Brownsville

The University of Texas at Brownsville has been a member of The University of
Texas System since 1991. In cooperation with Texas Southmost College, The
University serves more than 12,000 students at its campus located in
Brownsville, Texas. In Partnership with Texas Southmost College, The University
offers a wide range of courses from Associate and Baccalaureate degrees to
graduate classes and continuing education. For additional information about UT
Brownsville, please visit the University’s website at http://www.utb.edu/.

About
Texas Tech University
With nearly 29,000 students yet a cozy-feeling campus, Texas Tech students get
the benefits of a major research institution without getting lost in the crowd.
Texas Tech offers more than 150 degree programs through ten colleges. Texas Tech
has a top-ranked School of Law, a Graduate School, and a Health Sciences Center
that leads the country in areas such as aging and border health. They’re all
located on the same campus. In 2007, TTU established the Susan Polgar Institute for Chess
Excellence (SPICE) with its mission being

•
To promote chess as vehicle for enriching education
• To serve as the global center for chess research, education and development
• To support and promote competitive chess at the college level
• To recruit outstanding undergraduate and graduate students
For additional information about TTU, please visit the University's website at
http://www.ttu.edu

About
UT DallasThe University of
Texas at Dallas, located at the convergence of Richardson, Plano and Dallas in
the heart of the complex of major multinational technology corporations known as
the Telecom Corridor, enrolls more than 14,500 students. The school’s
freshman class traditionally stands at the forefront of Texas state universities
in terms of average SAT scores. The University offers a broad assortment of
bachelor’s,
master’s
and doctoral degree programs. For additional information about UT Dallas, please
visit the University's website at
http://www.www.utdallas.edu.

About TCA

The Texas Chess Association (TCA) promotes chess throughout the state of Texas.
It is the official United States Chess Federation (USCF) state organization for
Texas. The TCA promotes chess in many ways, including selecting organizers for
annual state-wide tournaments for both children and adults; sponsoring the
annual scholastic chess championship and certifying the participants for the
national Denker and Polgar tournaments; providing stipends for participants in
various national and international tournaments; providing chess sets and boards
for new scholastic chess clubs at discounted prices; and publishing an
award-winning, bi-monthly magazine, Texas Knights. The TCA is a 501(c)(3)
organization. For more information, visit the TCA website at
http://www.texaschess.org/.